Phones 4U has come up with a new phone package it claims makes it easier to change handsets.
Called Jump, the plan separates airtime from handset. So, a £37.99-a-month, two-year Jump contract actually comprises £15, which goes off to your network operator, and Phones 4U's phone-specific fee, the Jump Service Charge (JSC).
A …

Not really

It's not really any different to now they're just making it easier to do the following dance.

1. Sign up for a 2 year contract with a free phone

2. After 1 year sell the phone you got for free and use that money to pay off the remainder of your 2 year contract

3. Sign a new 2 year contract with a free phone.

The difference is that 2. didn't provide you with enough money to pay off your contract then you get to spread the remainder over the next 2 years. Of course if you do this every 12 months you'll very quickly get to a sizeable monthly sum.

Of course if you can afford to invest the money in a phone upfront it's much cheaper not to bother with a contract, buy a nearly new phone off of ebay and go payg or sim only. I've had my current phone for a year and it has cost me £320 including my line rental so £27 a month for a smartphone, calls, texts and Internet. If I keep the same phone for another year then that will fall to £18 per month.

if its a winning model, lets wait till the other independants pick it up. My experience of P4U is less than brilliant and i would cycnically thnk that this package may fall aprt in reality quite quickly.

You cant escape the cost of the hardware and pulling a smoke and mirrors trick will only work once or twice on a few people. I reckon after 3 phones, you could still be paying for the first one somehow and end up on a 60 quid a month bill simply to have a slightly newer phone.